Reading this story my own reaction gave me pause. I agreed that this deal didn’t make sense if it the intention was to advance sustainability. I then wondered what the real agenda for the deal might have been…

In the end it was a brief detour. That glimmer of cynicism is something I was saddened to have to witness but ultimately decided there was much to learn in the acknowledgement. And so back to the news item…

Oslo airport’s 16,000km long biofuel controversy

Oslo airport is using renewable jet fuel made from waste cooking oil as part of its fuel mix, but the fact this fuel is being imported from California has led to question marks about its real environmental credentials, according to Reuters.In 2016, Oslo became the first international airport to offer biofuels as part of the fuel mix it sells, with Los Angeles and Stockholm following soon after. This growing trend was part of an effort to lower the surging greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation industry.”This is a tiny little drop (in fossil jet fuel use). But it is the first drop,” said Olav Mosvold Larsen of state-owned Avinor, which runs 45 airports in Norway. He pointed out to Reuters that jet biofuels were twice the cost of conventional fuels.In the last few months Avinor has started importing its waste cooking oil from AltAir, a Californian firm whose sources include fast food restaurants. This means Avinor’s jet fuel is having to be trucked and shipped over 10,000 miles (16,000km). Previously, Avinor’s jet fuel came from Spain.Environmentalists say shipping biofuels from California to Norway doesn’t make sense.